Iraqis protest veto of election law

BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Iraqis in the southern province of Basra demonstrated in front of governmental buildings Friday in protest of a decision to veto the election law.

Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi vetoed an article of an amended election law Wednesday, citing his disappointment with the number of seats allocated to represent the mostly Sunni population of Iraqis living abroad.

The Sunni vice president later expressed astonishment over the media hype over the decision.

Protesters told the Voices of Iraq news agency that the demonstrations were organized by several of the political alliances and civil organizations in Basra.

Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, told reporters Friday that Christopher Hill, the U.S. envoy to Iraq, pressured Iraqi lawmakers to pass the amendments to the election law.

Lawmakers had resolved lingering issues over the vote in the ethnically divided city of Kirkuk and the nature of the election before passing the measure onto the three-member presidential council.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden phoned Kurdish leaders on at least three occasions following a threat of a boycott of the vote from the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi satellite news channel al-Sumaria reported.

Iraqi law mandates a parliamentary vote by January. The Iraqi Parliament is expected to reconsider the vetoed election measure during their weekend session.